Powder ingredient supplier Ohly says that advancing spray drying expertise could unlock new options for formulators in the nutraceutical sector.
Traditionally, liquid fats and oils have presented challenges such as agglomeration and flow problems during spray drying. The molecules are also highly heat-sensitive.
Thus, encapsulating them in a dry format for use in supplements and functional foods is a much more complex process than for other ingredients.
Manufacturers must precisely control several variables, including emulsification approach and stability, particle size and moisture content, drying temperature and airflow parameters and carrier selection and formulation specification.
Mark Fahlin, Commercial Director, Health at Ohly, explained the importance of producing high-quality lipid powders: "Liquid fats and oils can create real challenges around stability, dosing and consistency at scale and significant formulation expertise is required to stabilise and process them effectively."
Converting them into high-quality powders which retain the key functional properties that make them valuable is what gives manufacturers the flexibility to innovate.
A major technical achievement came when spray dryer provers could achieve high fat loads — liquid emulsions containing a large proportion of lipids — bringing several benefits for manufacturers and formulators, including the following:
- Nutritional efficiency: higher fat loads allow formulators to deliver defined levels of functional lipids in a compact, easy-to-dose format
- Formulation simplicity: less powder is required to achieve the same nutritional or functional effect
- Improved sensory performance: powders with higher fat loads tend to produce a richer, smoother mouthfeel in finished products
- Extended stability: encapsulating fats in a dry matrix slows oxidative deterioration, protecting quality during storage and transport and extending shelf life.
Ohly believes access to lipid spray drying expertise lets manufacturers explore formulation options that have historically been difficult or even impossible to achieve, including incorporating functional fats into dry formats and achieving reliable batch-to-batch consistency.
It could even support clean-label claims — which consumers increasingly expect — by enabling formulators to avoid hydrogenated oils and trans fats.
Fahlin added: "Lipid spray drying is one of the most technically demanding areas of ingredient processing and it's where formulation expertise really differentiates suppliers."
"When manufacturers are developing products that require substantial fat inclusion — whether for energy delivery, texture, or nutritional profile — liquid oils often present practical problems; they can affect moisture balance, complicate blending and introduce oxidation risks that shorten shelf life."
Expertly spray-dried lipid powders address those issues directly, giving formulators a more controllable, stable ingredient to work with across a wider range of product formats.
He highlighted Ohly's NEIVA Functional Lipids as an example of what is achievable with the right spray drying expertise.
